The present invention relates to a transferring system for transferring a delivery member by suitably distributing or portioning-out the delivery member onto one of transferring rails in accordance with destination of the delivery member.
Conventionally, in a sewing factory, a delivery member which holds a goods in process such as a stitched product is transferred to a proper destination. Such transferring system for transferring the delivery member is described in a commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/558,079, now pending. According to the disclosed arrangement, a transferring mechanisms and a transfer controlling means are provided. The transferring mechanism includes a plurality of distribution mechanisms connected to each other by a plurality of transferring rails on which the delivery member runs. The delivery member distributed by the distribution mechanism is directed to one of the transferring rails and is transferred by the transferring mechanism. The transfer controlling means controls the transferring mechanism such that each one of the delivery members is subjected to proper distribution on to the proper transferring rail in accordance with its destination.
According to the conventional transferring system, memory means is provided for storing therein mutually connecting information between the distribution mechanisms, that is, the information as to which two of the distribution mechanisms are connected together by the rail. On a basis of the "connecting information", the delivery member undergoes distribution to the corresponding transferring rail in accordance with the destination of the delivery member based on predetermined transferring rule.
However, during travel of the delivery member on the transferring rail toward its destination, which transfer is made on the basis of the transferring rule, if any trouble occurs which obstructs the transfer of the delivery member, for example, overflow occurs, the transferring operation is intermittently suspended until the trouble is eliminated. Therefore, processing period for the delivery member may be prolonged, to thereby lower the working efficiency. Further, if the distributing mechanism has its own impediment, the transferring rule must be largely revised in order to transfer the delivery member toward downstream area of the troubled distribution mechanisms. Thus, working efficiency is also lowered in this respect.